title: Receipt of dental care and barriers encountered by persons with disabilities.
abstract: A study was conducted to describe the receipt of dental care by patients with disabilities and to understand their perspective with regard to barriers to dental care. Subjects for this study were recruited among patients with disabilities seen at Carolinas Rehabilitation's outpatient clinic. A questionnaire consisting of 66 questions was completed by 344 subjects; with the topics related to both medical and dental care. Among the study population, 57.2% of subjects reported being seen by a dentist within the last 12 months, versus 67.3% before they became disabled. The last dental appointment was a routine examination for 59.5% of the respondents. Since becoming disabled, 16.6% of subjects reported problems receiving dental care. Financial challenges were the primary problem followed by physical accessibility issues. Further research is required to discover how barriers to care can be overcome to assure that those with disabilities receive adequate dental care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. tanya.rouleau@carolinashealthcare.org
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rouleau
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: Marcy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nussbaum
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bockenek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001107:Architectural Accessibility; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill / Q000191:economics; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007347:Insurance, Dental; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult